At the recent MPEG 148 meeting in Antalya, Turkey in November, Nokia achieved a significant milestone by showcasing the world’s first real-time MPEG Video-based Dynamic Mesh Coding (V-DMC)-compliant player. This innovation paves the way for a future where immersive XR (Extended Reality) experiences become effortlessly accessible on today's mobile devices via web-based technologies — read on to discover how we achieved this. 

Changing today's XR experience

Imagine playing AR games, exploring immersive 3D educational content, or visualizing business models—all from your mobile browser. No installation required, no need for high-end hardware—just a seamless XR experience.

Content creators can distribute XR media more efficiently, while businesses can adopt these technologies with minimal effort, seamlessly integrating them into websites.

This is the future our latest innovation will bring to reality (and extended reality!)

Nokia’s Immersive Media and Systems team break down barriers

Delivering realistic, interactive 3D content to mobile devices has long been a challenge in the XR space.

Complex compression processes and high data requirements have restricted accessibility and scalability. Most existing solutions demand significant bandwidth or cutting-edge devices and native applications, leaving many users behind.

My colleagues from Immersive Media & Systems Research in Nokia Technologies, Patrice Rondao Alface, Lukasz Kondrad, Lauri Ilola, Emre Aksu and I are determined to change this. 

One of the primary challenges is achieving the perfect balance between compression and rendering quality. To deliver realistic and interactive 3D content, volumetric data should be compressed efficiently without sacrificing visual fidelity. Striking this balance required innovative approaches to maintain the intricate details of 3D meshes while optimizing their size for practical use.

Bandwidth optimization poses another significant challenge. For the web-based V-DMC player to work seamlessly, even on modest internet connections, 3D content should be compressed efficiently within a bandwidth range of just 5–15 Mbps. This optimization aligns with the bandwidth requirements of streaming 4K video, making it accessible to a wide range of users without overwhelming network capabilities.

Lastly, ensuring device interoperability and scalability is crucial. The player has to operate smoothly on existing mobile GPU’s and the web browsers of today’s mobile devices, while also ensuring seamless performance on next-generation hardware.

Extending the XR ecosystem

This recent demo isn’t just the first of its kind—it is a preview of what is possible.

Our web-based MPEG V-DMC-compliant real-time player bridges the gap between the demanding nature of XR content and the everyday capabilities of mobile devices. In short, it makes dynamic 3D mesh-based content accessible to many web-enabled mobile devices today, bringing the immersive future one step closer.

With a browser-based approach, users can experience immersive content directly from the web without a need for a native application to be installed on their mobile device—no apps, just seamless immersion.

Next steps are to continue refining the V-DMC player, while contributing to the broader ecosystem of XR content. The world’s first MPEG V-DMC-compliant real-time player proves the feasibility of this technology and sets the stage for future testing.  By successfully demonstrating our research we are taking a step towards a more immersive future for all.

Quick facts

The MPEG V-DMC (Volumetric Dynamic Mesh Compression) standard focuses on compressing 3D volumetric content efficiently.

• Compression Efficiency
  Displacement mapping significantly reduces additional mesh data ensuring smooth XR content delivery—even on 4G networks.

• Compatibility
  Runs on existing mobile GPUs and web browsers, requiring only internet access—no installs needed.

• Future-Proofing
  Designed to scale with advancing device capabilities, ensuring seamless performance on next-generation hardware.